Revealed: The Ages of The Actors on Vampire Diaries

It’s inevitable. A teen drama on TV played by a bunch of definitely-NOT-teens. 90210 become the classic example (and apparent trend-setter) for a bunch of 20-somethings trying to pull off the teen angst of 16 and 17 year-olds.

I thought this “rule” was broken with Glee. Surely those actors can’t be much older than 19 or 20? Yeah, well I was wrong. Read here for a glowing review of Glee, including the ages of their main actors.

So back to Vampire Diaries, let’s start with the Vampires. Now, in fact, these actors are playing guys that are over a hundred years old, however “frozen” in their youth once they became vampires in the 19th century. Stefan claims he’s “forever 17”. But how old is the actor who plays him? Well, Paul Wesley just turned 27 this past summer. Yep, that’s right. He’s a whopping DECADE older than his character.

So what about Damon, his evil older brother? The charming Ian Somerhalder is actually the big 3-0… turning 31 this summer. But you have to admit, they both look great.

Alright, let’s get to the ladies. The star of the show – Elena Gilbert is played by Nina Dobrev. It’s safe to assume the character Elena is 17 years old, so how old is Nina? Would you be surprised if I said 20 years old? Yep, Nina turns the legal drinking age of 21 this January. Although she’s not a teenager anymore, that’s about as young as you can expect these “teen” actors to be anymore. Other neat fact about Nina – she was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Canada.

Image via Wikipedia

Candice Accola who plays the blonde Caroline is 22.

Katerina Graham who plays the bewitching Bonnie just turned 20. She was born in Switzerland.

Kayla Ewell who played the late Vicki the Vampire is really 24.

Zach Roerig who plays Elena’s ex Matt is also 24.

And lastly Jeremy, Elena’s brother. Actor Steven R. McQueen is 21 years old.

So, not a real teen in the bunch. But who cares? While those vampires don’t fool me as teenagers, the rest of the cast does. And they’re doing a great job. The Vampire Diaries is the break-out hit for the CW this year. The show’s season premiere had more viewers than any other premieres in the CW’s history. And while CW has been in very, very far last place among the networks since its inception… that could all change with this show. If the Vampire Diaries continues its growing viewership, it could surpass the ratings for NBC shows in the Thursday 8/7pm hour.

So, keep watching. And tell your friends to watch it, too.